When can I vote?

On election day — Oct. 21 — between 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m., at your local polling station.

On advanced polling days, at your assigned polling station, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Advance polls are on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday during the week before election day.

At any time prior to the Tuesday before election day at an Elections Canada office.

Any registered voter, including those living abroad, can also vote by mail.

How do I prove my identity when I vote?

To confirm your identity at the polling station, you’ll have three options.

Show one piece of identification — your driver’s licence or any other card issued by a Canadian government (federal, provincial/territorial or local) that features your photo, name and address.

Show two pieces of identification. These can include your voter information card, a bank statement, a utility bill or a student identification card.

Or, if you don’t have identification, you can confirm your identity and address in writing and get someone else to vouch for you. The person must know you and be registered to vote in your polling station.

What’s a special ballot?

Any elector who cannot or does not wish to vote at a polling station during an election or referendum may vote using a special ballot by mail or in person at the office of any returning officer. If the elector is away from his or her electoral district, inside or outside Canada, he or she can also register to vote with Elections Canada in Ottawa. The Special Voting Rules apply to electors who are temporarily away from their electoral districts whether in Canada or abroad; electors who cannot or do not wish to go to an ordinary or advance poll to vote; Canadian citizens residing outside Canada; electors in the Canadian Forces and electors who are incarcerated.

In all these cases, the elector must have a civic address for his or her place of ordinary residence in Canada.

How do I know who is running in my riding?

When nominations close, the Elections Canada website will have a list of all the candidates in every riding. To find out who is running in your riding, visit the Elections Canada voter information service and input your postal code. You can also search by electoral district, candidate name and by maps and place names.

Three weeks before election day, Elections Canada will send personalized voter information cards in the mail to all registered voters. They will include detailed information about when and where to vote.

What election changes are coming into effect this year?

Elections Canada is changing the design of ballots for the 2019 election. This is what an old ballot looked like.

To make it easier to read, the new ballot is two inches wider than the old ballot. Font sizes have been increased and the background is now grey instead of black.

There are other changes this election, including:

• Advance polling hours have been extended to cope with a growing interest in voting before election day. In the 2015 election, advance polls were open for eight hours (noon to 8 p.m.). In 2019, they will be open 12 hours (from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.)

• Voting booths will be set up at more post-secondary campuses — 115 in 2019, compared with 39 in 2015.

• Online voter registration will help voters who don’t have a driver’s license or an accepted provincial or territorial ID card

• Elections Canada is working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to offer better election services in their communities. One improvement is to increase the number of advance and election day polling places on reserves. Elections Canada has also launched a pilot project in 87 remote communities across 27 electoral districts where barriers to registration and voting were found to be higher than elsewhere.

What do I do if I receive misleading information about the election?

Phone calls, including robocalls from candidates, political parties and third parties are permitted during an election. You may receive calls that promote or oppose a party or candidate, to encourage you to vote, provide information about voting hours and locations, gather information about voting intentions and past voting practices or to raise money for a party or candidate. If you received a call you believe was misleading or inappropriate, fill out Elections Canada’s online complaint form or call 1-800-463-6868.

Where can I get more information?

Elections Canada is the official source for information on registration and voting in federal elections and has an extensive website. If you have a question that isn’t answered there, Elections Canada has a toll-free number, 1-800-463-6868.